Whale Watch season has an early start in 2014

It’s that time of the year when the rich and diverse inshore waters of West Cork can come alive with marine wildlife and the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) gears up for a busy season of monitoring cetaceans (whales, dolphins and harbour porpoises) and basking sharks along our coastline. The period of April to May is generally considered to be the tail-end of what we’d refer to as ‘low season’, as the sightings trend over the past decade show that most species have still not moved inshore in significant numbers. This May has however been exceptional, with daily sightings of Ireland’s smallest baleen whale, the minke whale and our most frequently observed dolphin the common dolphin. Of course the high volume of reports also reflect the fine settled weather, which draws more people to the coast and make it easier to spot animals, as seas are generally calmer during fine weather.

To give this activity some perspective, IWDG have documented over twice as many minke whale sightings during this period in 2014, than in any other year in the past decade. We have to go back to 2004, to find more minke whale sightings for the same period in West Cork. Sightings rates of common dolphins are also significantly higher for this time of year. All this is great news for whale enthusiasts, whale watch operators and is good news for local West Cork tourism, which is already attracting whale watch visitors from overseas.

The likely explanation for this early season bonanza are the series of extreme weather events that lashed the Southwest back in January and February, which resulted in larger than normal volumes of mud, sewage and slurry running off the land and being mixed with benthic sediment during the violent storms. This provided the perfect conditions for a phytoplankton bloom later in spring, which then kick started the local marine food chain. At the top of this food chain are the whales and dolphins, who move in to take advantage of a local abundance of forage species such as sand eels now, and the all-important sprat and juvenile herring later in the year.

IWDG have also documented the first humpback whale sighting of 2014, which was made by Dr Simon Berrow on the RV Celtic Voyager on May 17 just four miles southeast of Galley Head. This is an important record, as it confirms that the local feeding conditions have now drawn the attention of the large baleen whales. Interestingly, within 48 hours of this first humpback record, colleagues off the Blasket Islands, Co. Kerry observed their first humpback whale of the season. So our West Cork animal was unlikely to be a coincidence.

So all this means that the 2014 whale watch season has been kick-started earlier than normal, and while it’s fantastic to see video clips of large groups of hundreds of common dolphins off places like Baltimore and Ardfield, such sightings while unusual are not without precedent in West Cork.

For visitors who’d like to take advantage and try some whale watching, there are lots of land and boat based opportunities in West Cork, with established commercial whale watch operations at Reen Pier near Union Hall, Baltimore and Sherkin Island. Alternatively, and my personal favourite is to get out to one of West Cork’s classic headland vantage points with a good pair of binoculars and spotting scope on a calm, dry day; some notable sites would include: Old Head of Kinsale, Seven Heads, Galley Head, Toe Head, Baltimore Beacon, Cape Clear, Mizen Head, Sheep’s Head or Dursey Island (this list is not exhaustive). Remember, land-based whale watching is free, and is the only way to watch cetaceans without disturbing them and is also the only way you can guarantee you won’t get seasick!

For people who’d like to learn more about the cetaceans of Co. Cork and beyond, their ecology, conservation, current research and how to observe and identify the different species that occur locally, IWDG are running two residential weekend whale-watching courses on Cape Clear Island on July 11 to 13 and September 12 to 14. Bookings or enquiries to padraig.whooley@iwdg.ie or call 086-3850568.

We’d ask people who are fortunate enough to see whales or dolphins to report their observation to IWDG directly via the reporting section on www.iwdg.ie. Dead or live stranded cetaceans can also be reported to IWDG. Your sightings are important and are a key monitoring tool that helps us track the movements of these magnificent mobile marine mammals as they pass along the West Cork coast.

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The inaugural Ballineen Foróige Young Engineers Exhibition will take place in Gort Mhuire Hall in Ballineen this Friday 23rd February. As part of Engineers Week 2018, leaders and members of Ballineen Foróige Club have organised an exhibition which will showcase a diverse and exciting range of engineering projects that have been undertaken by members of the club over the last few weeks, with the aid of leaders and a number of local engineers.

With the aid of local pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, along with the support of STEAM Education, a UCC based company focused on promoting science, technology, engineering, arts, and maths subjects in primary schools, Ballineen Foróige has been engaging members and leaders in all things engineering over the last six weeks. From researching, designing, and prototyping a project based on local problems, to participating in various workshops on coding and careers in engineering, Ballineen Foróige have been extremely busy in preparation for the exhibition this coming Friday night.

On the night itself, Michael Loftus, Head of Engineering at CIT, Fintan Goold, Manager at Eli Lilly and All-Ireland Cork winning Footballer, along with Geraldine Coughlan of GCA Architects & Designers, a local business, will act as judges on the night, evaluating the different engineering projects and offering some advice to the members of the club. Also in attendance will be the CEO of Foróige Seán Campbell, along with a number of local councillors, TD’s and Senators.

Leading the team of Ballineen Foróige leaders organising the event, is Rebecca Dwyer, a bioprocess engineer at Eli Lilly. Rebecca recently became a leader in the club and says that Ballineen Foróige Young Engineer Exhibition 2018 “promises to be a fun, challenging and rewarding experience for all involved and we look forward to welcoming parents, relatives, friends and members of the public to the exhibition and film screening on the evening of Friday 23rd February.” Overall, there are twelve projects entered in the exhibition. One project, led by Cian Kennefick and Charlie Nolan, members of the starting out club, examines the possibility of installing speed ramps on the road near local primary school. Fourteen-year-old Charlie says he got involved in the project as it was something to do and it gets you thinking. Cian says the most exciting part of the project was the building of the prototypes.

Both Cian and Charlie, along with thirty other members of the club will display their projects this coming Friday 23 February in Gort Mhuire Hall in Ballineen. Doors open at 8pm and the event runs until 10pm. All are welcome to attend, and admission is free. Catering, including tea and coffee, will be provided on the night. ... See MoreSee Less

Check out this new upbeat indie-folk track Edges, released today from Inni-K with a video by Myles O'Reilly. Inni-K will be performing at Levis’, Ballydehob on Saturday 24th February, with support from Sam Clague.

“The Viking Gold and Silver Hoards from County Cork” is the topic of the next Dúchas Clonakilty Heritage lecture on Thursday 22nd at the Parish Centre starting at 8pm.

It will be delivered by John Sheehan, senior lecturer in the Archaeology Department, UCC and a former member of the Heritage Council and the Board of the National Museum of Ireland.

The Vikings were an important presence in Ireland for over two centuries. As well as inflicting great terror they were also responsible for introducing urbanism and new economic systems to the country.

In this talk the focus will be on the economy, looking at the gold and silver hoards that were buried in Co. Cork. It will also explore how these hoards were discovered, what happened to them, and where they are now! ... See MoreSee Less

Bandon Toastmasters is a club that helps people overcome Glossophobia, a fear of public speaking. The club is holding a night of inspirational and motivational speakers on February 22 that is a must for anybody wishing to overcome this phobia. Tickets can be purchased either on the club's facebook page or through eventbrite.